Watermelon!

Our first watermelon from the garden!!

Just for FUN....

*The night before I delivered Wyatt*

*4 days before I delivered Myles*

*?? days before I delivery #4. I can't find my pics of before I delivered Henry!! :(*

Good days

*A little pottery action*

*Wyatt picked some peppers... so I let him cut the top off and use it as a cup*

*Since the injury, this is where Wy has been parking it... under the slide. As you can see, the neighbor girls dig it :) Ha ha*

*Absolutely in love with these little boys...*

*... and their funny faces!*

37 weeks and other stuff

*Pray for my husband... if he has to hear me say one more time how much my back hurts!*

*Myles makes a mess EVERYWHERE he goes*

*The boys playing something... maybe cops and robbers?*

*Another injury before the collarbone... fell and hit his front tooth on his knee.. slightly loose*

*Daddy was home a lot more, so lots of food creations!*

*The infamous ropes.. making pulley systems constantly!*

Our first broken bone

I decided to start a label called injuries... just in case we have more. I guess with almost 4 kids, it's bound to happen. Especially since 3 of those kids are boys. I know that is just stereotyping, but I'm just going to bank on it so I can prepare myself mentally now since injuries really aren't my thing :) Go here to see our first set of stitches... which happened almost a year ago to this day while were vacationing!

 Last night we hosted our church group for a cookout. Everything was going so well... I had rested during the day, so I had plenty of energy, adults were visiting inside and out, one of the high school boys had taken the younger kids out to play whiffle ball. A perfect, low temp, high humidity evening to spend with church family. I walked outside to give Myles some ice cream and was chatting with a friend. The kids were playing and Wyatt was rounding bases after a hit. One of the bases was near their playset which has a bunch of ropes hanging off it b/c they were making pulley's the other day to pull up tractors. He's running full blast and as he passes the rope, gets his foot caught and it was like a movie... the rope literally pulled his feet right out from under him but his body kept going. He basically face planted pretty hard. He got up and gave out the initial cry which I recognized... I handed Myles over to my friend, and bolted off the deck as carefully as possible being 37 weeks pregnant! I could tell that breath was not coming out so I wanted to get to him right away. Sure enough, even smacking him in the face and blowing in his mouth did not work, and he did one of those weird seizure things, turned blue, and passed out in my arms. I am SO THANKFUL to God that I was out there. Had it been 2 minutes earlier, there would have been no adult out there, and he just would have fallen over face first. Funny thing... as Wyatt is lying limp in my arms, Henry had run over, picks up Wyatt's arm and it just falls. He says, "Uh Mom, I think Wyatt better take a break."

When he came to, he was a mess and it took literally about 20 minutes to calm him down. My friend who had Myles took one look at him and said.. hmmm, his collarbone looks a little funny. Shoot!! We got him the usual... some sugar to boost his levels and a cool rag. Took him upstairs, assessed together, and decided to take a trip to Children's. We were so, so thankful our church family was there. It's so different than just having a neighbor to help out. They cared for Myles and Henry while we were upstairs, prayed with me before they all left, and it def helped lighten the spirit and the mood!! J took Wyatt to Children's... I am so OK with my husband doing that instead of me! He is caring, compassionate, attentive, and always asks good questions when in those situations. And even though he HATES needles, he handles bones and gashes much better than me. (I was still recovering at 11pm from a queasy stomach!!) But while he was at Children's, Pastor Dan came to see little Wy and Uncle Devon came and stayed with them until they got the x-rays back with results. What a blessing to have friends/family who love the Lord and encourage in a way that brings us back to God's sovereignty!

Final Result: Wyatt was EXTREMELY chatty when he arrived. Super pumped about his sling (I'm sure that will wear off!!!). He has to be in a sling for 3- weeks, wrapped. I am due in 3 weeks. Jonathan starts school in 3 weeks... wow, should be fun :) We see a orthopedic doctor next week. Thankfully it is his right arm that is not wrapped so he can eat OK, but of course will need help bathing, dressing, etc. Looking forward to making this a purposeful time for all of us, but really being conscious of using as a time to encourage the boys to help each other, and to think of ways to show compassion to those who are wounded, in need, etc. And to remind them when they start to get frustrated with feeling restricted that all things happen for a reason. And all things are under God's control... even broken collarbones!

the garden

The garden has gotten ridiculously big! These are photos from about a month ago... right now, we are running out of space for our cucumber plants and our watermelon! We have a weekly harvest of summer squash, cucumber, onions, lettuce, banana peppers, and just this week bell peppers. There are several melons on the watermelon plant, and the tomatoes are growing! The boys are LOVING it!!! I used to make them water with cups out of a bucket... they didn't enjoy that too much. Since it's been so dry, I now let them use the hose and they get much more entertainment out of this :) I love seeing them barefoot and dirty!

Cooper Family Fun, pt. 2

Our last day together! Lots of fun pictures to remember this time together!

Cooper Family Fun, pt. 1

*Make your own stickers!! The boys LOVED them!*

*David and Sona brought the boys soccer jerseys from England. They are a hit! And of course, David had to play soccer with them :)

*Myles loves to swing!*

*Cozying up with Uncle David... while Aunt Sona and Mommy spent 5 hours shopping together!!!*

*Last swim at the Cooper pool!*

*Dinner out with David/Sona and Josh/Lori*

The month of June was full of Cooper fun! David and Sona were home from London for two weeks, Josh and Lori flew in from Florida for a wknd, and Mom and Dad moved to Florida all in the same two week span. It was crazy busy... but we had a great time visiting with everyone and the boys loved catching up with their uncles, aunts, and grandparents. When everyone left, it felt a little lonely around here! Before the big move, we made one last visit to the Cooper home in Upland, IN where Jonathan's parents spent about 35 years of their life. It was the home that Jonathan, David, and Josh grew up in --- it was great to spend one last day there eating Ivanhoes, taking a walk around Taylor, and swimming in their pool. Now it's time for a new beginning as they moved their permanent residence to the Villages in Florida. David and Sona went back to London (almost 5 months pregnant!!!!!), and Josh and Lori are back in Florida. Life is full of changes!!

Happy Birthday Myles!

June 30th... was his birthday! He is two!!! Wow!! We had a wonderful celebration with family - and he was a happy boy. We opted to make our own cake this year... I made the cake and frosted it, and Jonathan did all the decorating. We had fun! The push cart was a gift from Aunt Sona and Uncle David - it was his favorite... lots of smiles!